Andrew Bostom in his book The Legacy of Islamic antisemitism(p.46) says that this humiliating practice - which could be enforced even on the Jewish Sabbath - persisted through the late nineteenth century.

Here is one episode, as described by Eliezer Bashan: "In 1872 the sultan succeeded in quelling a Berber revolt and 48 captives were condemned to death. In October 1872 on the order of the Sultan, they were dispatched to Rabat for beheading. Their decapitated heads were to be exposed on the gates of the town for three days. since the heads were to be sent to Fez, Jewish ritual slaughterers (Shohetim) were forced to salt them and hang them for exposure on the Sabbath. Despite threats by the governor of Rabat the Jews refused to do so. He then ordered soldiers to enter the homes of those who refused and drag them outside. After they were flogged, the Jews complied and performed the task and the heads of the rebels were exposed to the public."

In his book Il etait une fois le Maroc David Bensoussan (p.90)confirms that the term Mellah originated from the salting by Jews of heads decapitated by Muslims. Bensoussan quotes Rabbi Youssef Ben Naim as his source. " If I had to list all the abuses against the Jews of Morocco, I wouldn't find enough parchment," the rabbi wrote.

"The hanging of the heads on spikes was a task reserved for the Jews in order to humiliate the dead, since they were being hung by abject persons (the Jews). It was also customary for the Jews to drag the corpses off for burial, because they thought it would dishonour the Gentiles if the beast were buried by their own hands. May G-d put an end to the degradation of Israel."

NB In her book Islam and dhimmitude: where civilisations collide, Bat Ye'or writes that Jews had to carry out the mutilation of thieves in Tunisia, while Christians served as hangmen. In Yemen and Morocco, the salting of enemies' heads included removal of the brains.(p102)

7 comments:

Sylvia
said...

But are the beheadings the reason "Mellah" got its name? No, this is a malicious legend that I believe made it into print only in the early 20th century.

First - To say that Mellah got its name because of the beheadings is to ignore the historical background. The Jews of Morocco remembered in their history books the Merinid Sultan who moved them to their new quarters outside the city of Fes as "Abdel Haq the compassionate". They were aware that the intention was to protect them from fanatics even though they didn't like the idea. he was reputed to have been to the Jews. In fact he was assassinated on the pretext that he had a Jewish Vizir (who was assassinated as well).

- Second every Jewish quarter - and this seems particular to Morocco - was named Mellah - even in those areas where, until the French protectorate, were tribal areas where the Sultans had no jurisdiction.

- Three, the grammatically correct translation of Mellah in the North African dialects is "the salter". Just like "to the Baker" means a Bakery and the Butcher is a butcher-shop so "Salter" means salt station. A place where they received salt and salted the meats not only for themselves (Kashrut) but for the rest of the population. Salt was a precious commodity until the appearance of the ice-box.

To adopt this as if it was the regular occupation of Jews and attach it to an etymology is tantamount to Jews adopting the blood libel.

Sylvia, I see what you mean. No doubt the Mellah (Persian: Mallaleh) started off as rather a comforting place of protection, but then the word acquired a derogatory meaning, and that's where the association with the salted heads come in.

'comes' in.How much this was a blood libel, I'm not sure - the beheaded rebels were not killed by the Jews and to associate the Mellah with this activity casts the Jews as cursed victims more than anything else, perhaps?

Norman Stillman "The Jews of Arab Lands", p.81."The later legendary etymology of the word mellah as a place where Jews originally salted the heads of executed criminals for public display emphasizes the outcast connotation that was attached to it".

What I am saying is that it is an appropriation of negative stereotypes originating in the dominant society. This is a very marked characteristic of the dhimmi. Many of our customs which we cherish as ours, originated as prohibitions. ex: "you can't wear green because it's not our custom" (that was my mother speaking when for my 12th I wanted a green dress:)

Follow by Email

Click picture for Facebook page

Introduction

In just 50 years, almost a million Jews, whose communities stretch back up to 3,000 years, have been 'ethnically cleansed' from 10 Arab countries. These refugees outnumber the Palestinian refugees two to one, but their narrative has all but been ignored. Unlike Palestinian refugees, they fled not war, but systematic persecution. Seen in this light, Israel, where some 50 percent of the Jewish population descend from these refugees and are now full citizens, is the legitimate expression of the self-determination of an oppressed indigenous, Middle Eastern people.This website is dedicated to preserving the memory of the near-extinct Jewish communities, which can never return to what and where they once were - even if they wanted to. It will attempt to pass on the stories of the Jewish refugees and their current struggle for recognition and restitution. Awareness of the injustice done to these Jews can only advance the cause of peace and reconciliation.(Iran: once an ally of Israel, the Islamic Republic of Iran is now an implacable enemy and numbers of Iranian Jews have fallen drastically from 80,000 to 20,000 since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Their plight - and that of all other communities threatened by Islamism - does therefore fall within the scope of this blog.)